We explore coevolution in the growth of technological knowledge and international scope in multinational corporations (MNCs). We focus on technological knowledge and international scope because they are core to the performance of MNCs and because research has found that technological knowledge stimulates international growth, while internationalization stimulates technological growth. We address this seeming paradox by consolidating arguments about their growth under the coevolutionary umbrella. In so doing, we advance a novel coevolutionary argument: technological knowledge and international scope are both outcomes of interdependent, long-term strategic decisions aimed at optimizing the complementary effects of both dimensions on MNC performance. Accordingly, we develop a formal model of the dynamic processes by which technological knowledge and international scope coevolve. Our dynamic optimization model identifies four coevolutionary trajectories: (1) a trajectory in which growth in technological knowledge and international scope occur simultaneously; (2) a trajectory that has simultaneous reductions in both; (3) a trajectory in which technologically rich but domestically oriented firms expand international scope but reduce technological knowledge; and (4) a trajectory in which highly internationalized but technologically lagging firms expand technological knowledge but reduce international scope.

我们探索跨国公司 (MNC) 技术知识增长和国际范围的共同进化。我们关注技术知识和国际范围，因为它们是跨国公司绩效的核心，而且研究发现技术知识刺激国际增长，而国际化刺激技术增长。我们通过在共同进化的保护伞下整合关于它们的增长的论点来解决这个看似矛盾的问题。这样做，我们提前一个新的共同进化的说法：技术知识和国际范围有两种旨在优化这两个维度对跨国公司绩效的互补影响的相互依赖的长期战略决策的结果。因此，我们开发了技术知识和国际范围共同进化的动态过程的正式模型。我们的动态优化模型确定了四个共同进化轨迹：(1) 技术知识和国际范围同时增长的轨迹；(2) 两者同时减少的轨迹；(3) 技术丰富但面向国内的公司扩大国际范围但减少技术知识的轨迹；(4) 高度国际化但技术落后的公司扩大技术知识但缩小国际范围的轨迹。